


The Lone Me and Lonely You

by Kou (Rietto)



Series: AkaYona AU : Zeno caring Shin-Ah [5]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, or something like that, prophetic dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 16:28:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8063644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rietto/pseuds/Kou
Summary: In which someone's dream is another's reality





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [El solitario yo y el solitario tu](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9388256) by [narutinachan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narutinachan/pseuds/narutinachan)



When he was just met Zeno, Shin-Ah told him what he desired the most.

It wasn’t toys, nor good food. It wasn’t treasure too. It’s something harder to obtain for monster like him, an impossibility he thought as told by Ao.

He just wanted friends.

Of course, it’s more than that, Shin-Ah would realize later. He didn’t want to be alone, he wanted to have someone to share his joy and pain with. He wanted to be accepted.

And to nameless monster like him, the lowest of the low who didn’t deserve anything but punishment, Zeno said something incredible.

Zeno told him that he’d help make it come true. It’s impossible in his village, but somewhere else, it’s definitely possible. In a place where lies about him aren’t said, he’d definitely be able to make friends. Everyone would definitely want to be his friends.

Zeno told him he wanted to be his friend.

Shin-Ah jolted awake. The sight of starry summer sky greeted him, familiar weight of Zeno’s hand was on his stomach and his breathing tickled Shin-Ah’s ear.  He swallowed and forced himself to relax, not wanting to wake Zeno too.

He breathed out and closed his eyes again.

It’s a nearly forgotten memory of when he first met Zeno. To see the past in his dreams, Shin-Ah supposed it’s an usual thing. He saw memories as often as he saw nightmares of being alone in the dark, but usually it’d be memory from when Ao was still alive. It’s unusual to see memory from the time after he met Zeno in a dream.

Then again, he’d thought that he’d only see distant memory in his dreams, and it’s been months since Zeno asked him to come with him.

It’s been… quite long. It's getting harder to remember his life with Ao now.

It's not at all peaceful, despite that he was happy with Zeno. 

Zeno had told him that he couldn’t stay in one place for too long, and had admitted to wanting to leave Shin-Ah in one village because of it. Apparently he hadn't wanted to subject Shin-Ah to similar fate, but things happened, and turns out Shin-Ah too had the same problem.

Zeno said unlike his though, Shin-Ah’s problem would disappear in few years at the latest. Then, he apologized, and asked to come with him again.

“I’m sorry,” he’d said. “Even though you can finally have friends… to have to leave with me again… I’m so sorry…”

It’s true, Shin-Ah was sad he had to leave everyone, but at the same time he was relieved.

He hadn’t wanted to part with Zeno after all.

He’s like Ao to Shin-Ah after all. Shin-Ah couldn’t see him or Zeno as his friends, but he didn’t want to part with them even more than he didn’t want to part with his friends. Zeno was important to him too. Well, even though he said that, if Zeno wished to leave him, Shin-Ah had decided to not question him though.

He’d be sad, but he’d pack Zeno’s things himself if he had too.

That’s why, it was very relieving.

Carefully, he turned to Zeno and held him back.

It’s like living a dream. Zeno was weird, but he’s kind and warm and Shin-Ah liked him very much. He’d given him so much, more than he thought he wanted and deserved. More than he thought was possible. In new places that Zeno had taken him too, he could always pretend that he’s not a monster.

Just like how Zeno always smiled, perhaps, like how he always pretended that he’s living carefree life without troubles. Well, Shin-Ah still couldn’t bring himself to smile most of the time though.

One day, the things troubling Zeno, he’d like to help him with that. Just like how Zeno had always helped him.

Like always, the warmth lulled him to sleep, and Shin-Ah embraced it happily.

Dream or not, reality or not, both would have happy ending.

At least, at that moment, Shin-Ah thought so.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Zeno saw dreams often in his sleep.

Dreams of his past, of when he was still oblivious and thus naïve and not corrupted were the most frequent.

After thousands of years, he had become corrupted.

The dreams usually would only pull him under, suffocating him and filling him with regret.

But, the dream he saw in one summer night after he started following Hiryuu was the same in different way.

Unlike usual, he wasn’t dreaming of his past. Unusual, but not that weird. It’s not the first time it’d ever happen.

In the dream, he was with a child. It was a boy, with blue hair and mask covering his face. Seiryuu, he’d realized. They, Zeno and Seiryuu in his dream, were just laying on a clearing while looking up to clear starry sky.

No… when he walked closer, Seiryuu was already asleep. The mask wasn’t properly fixed, and he could see his closed eyes.

“… sweet dreams.”

He heard the dream him muttered softly as he stroked Seiryuu’s hair. The young dragon inched closer as he curled on himself, as if seeking warmth.

Zeno was dumbstruck.

He’d seen that look often before. Parents had that kind of blissed look in their faces, specially when they’re looking at their children. Well, granted, not every parents, but most of the time Zeno found such look on a parent’s face.

Who…?

Who’s that? That… that’s not him… that couldn’t be him…!

Even though he had the same blue eyes, same golden hair… even though he had the same medallion, it couldn’t be him!

He flinched when suddenly the child let out a whimper, and the dream him sat up suddenly and seemingly panicked. He dragged himself closer to Seiryuu, held his hand, and whispered soothing words.

“Aah… Shin-Ah, shh… It’s alright, it’s alright… Zeno’s here, Shin-Ah. You’re not alone, see?”

Zeno found himself trembling when he realized it.

“You’re with Zeno, see?”

Slowly, Seiryuu opened his eyes, and he smiled at slightly before closing them again and breathed out. His fingers gripped tight on the hand holding his, and the older boy chuckled with blissed expression.

Zeno took a step back.

Impossible…

The two of them… the him in the dream and Seiryuu…

Seiryuu was different than the young man he’d become. Seiryuu wasn’t that open to anyone. He would become tense whenever someone tried to touch him, and he’d make sure even in his sleep his mask was fixed properly and securely . He wouldn’t open his eyes and smile as if in daze like that to anyone.

No…

If it’s Seiryuu, he wouldn’t smile all, in any circumstances. He’d lost the ability to do so.

What’s… this…? What the hell… was he seeing?

“… it’s a possible world you chose to ignore.”

The other him said, as if hearing his unsaid questions. Zeno could feel himself trembling when he looked up and met his gaze. Strange gentle blue eyes, contented smile… It’s him and yet it’s not. It’s almost like someone else entirely.

“For you, it’ll be quite a while until you can be with this child and the others. Well, me too, actually. I won’t see the others until far in the future. A decade, perhaps. Maybe more. Short compared to the years I’ve lived through, but still. At least though, until then, I have Shin-Ah with me.”

“… wha…”

“You, on the other hand… Sorry, you’ve had your chance. So… stay tough!”

He smile widened and he raised a hand in mock salute, and Zeno woke up with a gasp.

* * *

It took a while, but Zeno understood in the end.

He watched from afar, how Seiryuu stood in the middle of a clearing, hands outstretched and head tilted upwards to the cloudless starry sky.

Fireflies were around him, and the moon was full. It was night and yet, it’s bright and beautiful.

Hiryuu called him Shin-Ah, and he accepted it with a nod before running away with light steps.

He seemed so happy, somehow Zeno thought so even though it’s impossible to see his expression due to his mask.

Shin-Ah…

The him in the dream called Seiryuu with that name… didn’t he? Well, Zeno was spiritually aware. The fact that the dream him noticed him and told him things wasn’t that surprising.

Hiryuu thought up the name.

Zeno supposed, if he found out before the name was actually given, it’s not something so odd too. He saw prophetic dreams often after all.

“… finally, huh… good for you, Shin-Ah.”

He said earnestly as he leaned back to the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

The him in the dream didn’t seem to have known that for Zeno, it wouldn’t be much longer before he could join everyone. Sixteen years had passed after all, since the descent of that red star. He’d seen the current generation dragons, and he’d watched them from afar since that day, watched them struggling and overcoming their despair, ignoring their pleas and outstretched hands.

The him in the dream didn’t.

One summer day fourteen years ago, when he saw Seiryuu on the field of corpses…

Yes, he supposed that’s his chance. He could have gone and saved him. He could have taken Seiryuu with him. He could have help change things for the better for him.

He could have, and he’d chosen not to. That’s it.

And for that, he had to deal with the consequences.

More than a decade of solitude he could have avoided.

No, perhaps, if only he’d come to the previous generations… if only he’d decided to get involved with them, he wouldn’t have to be alone. Perhaps, his thousands years of solitude didn’t have to happen. Perhaps, even to the dragons, things would change for the better.

Just like how Seiryuu could smile in the dream.

Perhaps the him in the dream regretted the same thing.

“Or perhaps, nothing would change and I’ll just make things worse. At this point, I’ll never know, I guess.”

Because even if he wanted to, to return to the past is impossible. To see how it played out in his dreams, well it’s possible, but it’s not like he could control what he’d see.

He came close to him when Seiryuu was asleep.

It’s similar, and yet different.

He’s not as expressive, but Zeno could see the faint tell-tale of a hidden smile. Similar to the boy he’d seen in his dream, and yet different. Zeno tentatively touched his hair, and surprised when Seiryuu leaned into it. The smile was almost obvious now.

“… Seiryuu… why do you seem so happy? It’s me, you know? I’m the person who has abandoned you, you know?”

Of course, Seiryuu didn’t answer. He probably didn’t realize that Zeno was there with him, just like the others. Hakuryuu was too fatigued to feel him, and the others too were too deep in their sleep after all the digging they’d done earlier.

“I could have come to you. Hakuryuu is one thing, but I could have come to Ryokuryuu too. And maybe, when it happened… I could have immediately come to Hiryuu. Such is what’s expected of me after all, and I was there when it happened.”

“Maybe, I’m just being conceited and nothing would change. And… yeah, maybe I wouldn’t be able to do anything for you, and you’d want to have nothing to do with me. I’m not good after all. I’m saying this too… it’s just because I came to… want to be with you and everyone. That’s it. I just… It’s been so long. Just a bit, I’d like to have some company. That’s it. I’m not good of a person after all.”

He let out a sigh and stood up when Seiryuu squirmed.

“… it’s too late. I’ve made up my mind, and I’m not ready yet. And, this me, I don’t think I want you and everyone else to see this kind of me. I’ll… If it’s allowed, I’ll come to you later.”

And he walked away after taking in the dragons and their two human companions’ expressions. The sight made his chest hurt, and yet he couldn’t help but to smile slightly.

Zeno clutched his medallions tightly.


End file.
